[God Quest] don't you look good in red?

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

The last time the Flood was at this particular shrine, he’d spent gods knew how long in Frey’s little pocket space, getting Safrin burned out of his bones. And it seems almost fitting that he returns here with the completion of a quest he’d been sent on, arriving with the little notes he’d taken from the places he’d visited and the people he’d talked to, not trusting his mind fully given the fact that he’d endured so many aspects that lead to memory loss that he didn’t want to run the risk of it again.

The downside, however, is that he has no blindfold with him when he reaches the shrine, and instead simply kneels before it, keeping his eyes averted while he sets down the ripe peaches, mangoes, and nectarines in the basket he’s brought. “Frey, I have finished what you asked.” He murmurs, flipping to the page of his little notebook so that he’s fully prepared to explain.

---

Sunjata quest turn in to enchant the brothel!!

• Speak to 3 people and ask what sorts of environments they'd like to be intimate in:
  ― I may have tricked myself Isla, beach midday
  ― we owe this to ourselves Sohalia, Greatwood, observatory
  ― Was it pain or was it circumstance Hotaru, a light airy room
  

• Visit at least 2 of those types of environments and note any safety considerations:
  ― {SE} soul food Visited the beach around midday, took note of potential sand problems, crabs (lmao), potential storms and flooding issues
  ― Shining Trinkets of Grief Visited Hotaru’s prepared room of choice, took note of potential hygiene issues with the furs and if open windows, birds that may fly in
  

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

'I do so love when you finish.' The deity purrs behind Sunjata. Aware that the Flood has no blindfold with which to block his gaze, Frey remains behind him, not at all minding the view. Something long and coiled stretches forward, not unlike the tongue of a butterfly but on a much more massive scale, to pluck one of the nectarines from Sunjata's basket. "So very sweet this time of year." They say, followed by very suggestive slorping sounds as they devour the fruit.

"Tell me...what was it like hearing about the desires of others?" Frey would much rather hear the words from Sunjata's lips than strain to read his scribbles in his notebook. Besides, the view of the Flood on his knees from the back was not a sight they were keen to waste.

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

Their voice appears from behind him which easily allows for Sunjata’s shoulders to relax, his head to lift as he watches the thin coil outstretch to pluck a nectarine from the basket and he smiles inwardly to himself to hear the appreciation within his deity’s voice. “I thought it would be a good option, given I typically only have peaches.” And he’s glad to know that the other additions are well received.

As for what he’s learned, however, he scans the book briefly to ensure he doesn’t forget anything, before he snicks it shut and shifts a bit, remaining on his knees with his head lifted, watching the basket as he speaks to Frey. “Interesting.” Because it was. “Not exactly what I had expected, actually. Previously when I talked to people about it, it was nearly always something adventurous and thrill seeking.” On top of a mountain in the woods with nobody around, somewhere half hidden in public trying not to be caught, etc. “But when asking them, the majority were tender, almost. In the observatory in the Greatwood or an airy room with sunlight and a breeze. The most adventurous one I heard was on the beach at midday, potentially storming.” He thinks about that one a little longer, it had been Isla’s after all. It had also been something he’d done before.

“I will say it took more thought on the safer choices to determine what could potentially be hazardous or become an issue, but I managed it.” He lets a low chuckle rumble from him – the first time in a long while.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

"Variety is the spice of life, I've heard." Frey purrs, before they shrug. "Though I'm not so sure about that, my tongue certainly appreciates having different flavours and textures." A salacious grin is evident in their voice as that same tongue-like limb stretches out to retrieve a mango.

"Fascinating, isn't it? So many think that the pinnacle of fucking has to include danger or a wildly interesting set of circumstances, and yet for most, it's just as you've seen. Tenderness. Safety. A few tactile elements perhaps, like stormclouds or fur, but rarely is the body wholly satisfied by carnal delights. The mind needs to be tickled as well."

Stretching forward hands tipped with long feathers, Frey trickles them down the Flood's spine in lazy patterns. "Ahh yes." They agree. "It would have been much easier to sort out the dangers involved if everyone wanted to be fucked over hot coals, now wouldn't it?" Frey chuckles. "Providing lubricants and magical disinfectants are perhaps not as sexy, but just as necessary as you've now seen for yourself."

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

Another soft hum that could be considered a laugh leaves him to hear the grin in Frey’s voice, watching them reach for a mango next. He has to agree with their next statement, however, before he can get a chance to say anything he feels the feathers run along his spine in easy patterns, straightening him out ever so slightly as shivers race down his arms and the legs he kneels upon, head tilting slightly and lowering into the touch.

“It would be.” He agrees with a shivery sigh. “Admittedly, they aren’t anything I’ve thought of in the heat of the moment but now seem to be unable to not think about them.” Disinfecting the furs and rooms, ensuring that wood bed posts would be free of splinters, making sure screens sit in the open windows to prevent any rogue birds from slipping in unwelcome. The sea, however, harbored more – crabs and sand and potential tides. But that one had been easy.

“Out of the three, I visited the airy room and the beach setting, though admittedly I was already familiar with the latter.” His eyes close as he leans into the feathery touches, letting his body relax into Frey’s touch.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

"Such is the service you provide." Frey says with a knowing nod of their head. "In the heat of the moment we all think we want to be shoved up against walls or tables. We think passion comes from force and need, but with a little planning..." Their feathery fingertips walk their way up Sunjata's shoulders, before cascading down his biceps. "..we can have more than we ever realized we wanted." Indeed, tables and bedposts were good for clawing fingers into, but the splinters? Absolutely no need.

"I'm sure you were." Frey agrees, eyebrows waggling. Sunjata won't be able to see this of course, but the deity's amusement hung like a heavy scent in the air all around them.

"I should mention so that it doesn't take you by surprise...but I'm sending Phoebe your way. And before you get all stiff-" Their fingers pitter-patter admonishingly against Sunjata's back as if to head off any tension. "-I'll tell you what I told her. You two share a remarkable amount in common, and just because fucking and being angrily married didn't work out for you two, doesn't mean you can't try something new. Especially since you're both under me."

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

He supposes it’s true that it is now the service he provides, even if he doesn’t indulge in it himself often these days. And with their comment comes a low hum of agreement and understanding, feeling their fingertips walk down his arms. “That’s true.” He agrees with a soft sound of amusement and honesty, recalling some of the times where he’d had more than his fair share of initial planning, turning that night into ones he remembered often.

Frey’s amusement lingers in the air and adds to the smile that settles on Sunjata’s scarred face, one that falters slightly at their next set of words as he does stiffen up, only to relax in increments when those feathered touches return down his back and he lowers his head again. “I have tried to be reasonable to her.” He offers quietly – having done nothing but tried to be decent and kind enough as far as Phoebe was concerned. “Yet she’s made me her villain.” A brief pause as he considers his next set of words, slipping from him in a heavy sigh. “She also has a terrible way of getting under my skin.”

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

'I know you have.' Frey agrees, their fingers beginning their slow ministrations across his skin once more. "And I know she does." Though the deity does not sigh, the sudden burst of sea breeze around them makes it seem as though they had. "The same way we might explain away the thorns of a rose as its means of protection so too might we say of Phoebe's judgemental streak is her way of caring." It wasn't an excuse, merely an explanation, and just as one might leave a rosebush alone so as not to be stabbed, so too might one leave Phoebe to her own proclivities.

"I'm not saying I want you two back together by any means, but..." Their voice lowers as the breeze gusts more strongly. "Something is coming. I'm not even sure just what. But I feel it in my most sensitive bits." What those were, Frey would leave up to Sunjata's imagination.

"All I ask is that if I need to call on the two of you, you can hold hands and play nice. So if there is anything that needs to be aired between you, do it earlier rather than later, mm?"

relive who i've been at my worst,
every single night, looking for a distraction

Despite it appearing like a sigh from his god, Sunjata takes a deep breath of the scent of salt and sea, letting it relax him further as he listens, letting the tension in his shoulders start to unknot themselves. “Perhaps so.” He can’t help but to think there’s nothing within Phoebe that cared about him in the slightest, and he finds that it doesn’t bother him at all. But he can’t say that he doesn’t owe her for introducing him to Frey in the first place. If she hadn’t, perhaps he’d never had that little connection that had managed to snatch him away from Safrin’s clutches.

He nods, though, understanding the reasoning behind it and exhaling a breath of relief at the idea that they don’t want them back together, lifting his chin slightly as he regains less of the stiffness and tries to relax a bit more into the sea breeze and feathery touch. “Of course.” It had never been him that hadn’t tried to play nice, but perhaps if she’s talked to Frey it might make it easier.

They were able to make some kind of secret amends in the refuge, anyway, so perhaps the hope Frey has of them working together is something feasible. “I can play nice.” He offers it as a promise, leaning back into the touch as if to prove that it's a promise he will absolutely keep.

the flood

waiting for the sun to rise
pretty sight for some hollow eyes

totally sniped from odd ilu

"Good." Frey purrs, and suddenly that strange butterfly tongue is curling against Sunjata's ear before sneaking forward to retrieve the last peach from the basket. "Because if you two can't manage this on your own, I'll be forced to fit you two into this:" A comical image of Sunjata and Phoebe stuffed together into a single sweater dances on the rainbow rocks. Neither the Flood nor the Nightengale looks particularly pleased, but in the background, a cartoon Frey is cackling merrily.

With the peach returned to their mouth, Frey presses a warm butterfly kiss against Sunjata's cheek. "Try and enjoy the fruits of your labour, mmm?" They suggest, before vanishing in a warm rush of sea air and feathers.


~FIN